How are unwitnessed behaviours (such as an adult bird building a nest the chick never saw the construction of) passed onto the next generation?
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Top-voted comment over-simplifies the case. In all vertebrates, at least, it’s fair to say that some behaviors are entirely instinctual but most are a mix of instinctual and learned. Birds comprise a whole order of vertebrates and a very wide range of behaviors and genetics. Highly social species such as parrots have young that accompany the parents for several years. IDK if they help build the nest of subsequent generations [but they do help rear the young](https://phys.org/news/2012-07-family-key-social-birds.html), and it’s very likely that they learn some things by watching. I’m not an ornithologist, but I’d love to hear from one about this.
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